Leicester academic speaks at UCLA symposium on race and human rights

Dr Vidya Kumar was invited by a UN special rapporteur to speak on a panel at the symposium in Los Angeles.

The University of Leicester was represented by Dr Vidya Kumar, Associate Professor of Law at Leicester Law School, at a symposium titled ‘Critical Perspectives on Race and Human Rights: Transnational Re-Imaginings’, held at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on Friday 8 March 2019.

Dr Kumar sat on the plenary panel ‘Race, Socio-Economic Inequality, and Human Rights’ at the symposium. She was invited to speak by Tendayi Achiume, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
The symposium convened an interdisciplinary group of scholars to consider the position of international human rights when considering global racial injustice and racial inequality.

The invitation recognised Dr Kumar’s expertise and understanding of the relationship between race, human rights and international law, specifically her work in the area of Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL).

Participation in the symposium also demonstrated Leicester Law School’s specialism in addressing global legal problems, and the joint commitment of the Law School and the University to supporting decolonial thought and critical legal perspectives.

Dr Kumar said: “I was honoured and excited to have been invited by the UN Special Rapporteur on Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance to discuss pressing global human rights issues and decolonial approaches to them.”